Star Wars: Diclonius Hunt
by darkruler64
Summary: It has been nearly a month since Starkiller's defeat and reconstruction at the hands of the Emperor. Now a mere tool of the Emperor, he recieves his first task: To deal with a race known as "Diclonius." Rated T for blood and violence.
1. Prologue

Starkiller stood erect in the meditation chamber he was confined to whenever the Emperor didn't need him. He scrapped his steel claws against the wall in anguish; his breath was a deathly rattle. He relived that torturous moment over and over again in his mind:

_The Emperor stood right behind him, daring him to make a move, open to attack. He whirled around to strike him down but his attack was blocked by the Emperor's own blade. He pressed hard, trying desperately to overpower the emperor but his arms grew brittle, the strength draining from him. Before he could react or contemplate what was happening, the Emperor sent him flying into a wall with merciless blast of Force lightning, and then hurled him across the room and onto the floor next to the lifeless body of Bail Organa. When he looked up, the last thing he saw was the Rogue Shadow being brought down on him to crush him._

But the Emperor had revived him and reconstructed him into the cyber-organic monstrosity he was now. Over his head was an Ubese bounty hunter helmet, grafted to his skull to insure it could not be removed without killing him. His spine had been replaced with a robotic one and the bones in his arms were removed and replaced with durasteel prosthetics, with his own preserved skin wrapped tightly over them, allowing him to still conjure Force lightning. Over his ravaged torso was a black form fitting leather vest with a high metal collar and a metal pauldron, all grafted to his skin. Connected to his back were two sets of ribbed steel bands which wrapped around his torso to protect his damaged ribcage.

Around his waist he wore a leather tabard and a series of leather belts upon which rested several lightsabers, including the one he wielded for over a decade as Vader's apprentice, Vader's own saber, Rahm Kota's, and Kazden Paratus'. They were all painful reminders of his past and felt heavy to wear, but he wore them at all times, not because he had to but because his hatred was all he had left, his hatred of Vader for all the betrayals, for all that he took from him, his hatred of his father for leaving him, his hatred of the Emperor for keeping him alive, and his hatred for all that was life.

After hours of silence and solitude the door slid open and the Emperor's cloaked silhouette crept inside, his unforgiving visage shadowed beneath his cowl.

"I have a task for you." he said in his ghoulish rasp. "Familiarize yourself with my Diclonius report, then go to Kamino and await further orders."

Starkiller did not respond but left immediately.


	2. The Hunt

The glare of the screen was relentlessly bright before Starkiller's eyes, even from behind his black visor. He had skimmed through the Diclonius report on the way to Kamino while his new ship was on auto pilot.

He had learned that the Diclonius were an elusive sentient species that once coexisted with humans on a single planet, the name of which had been lost. The Diclonius were hated and feared for the psychological illnesses and animalistic killing instincts they often developed, without any clear explanation. As a result, they were the target of many persecutions by humans.

Each Diclonius had two or more invisible appendages called "vectors" growing out of its body and two horn-like growths on their heads. They could extend and withdraw their vectors at will. Vectors started out intangible but could turn solid and extend from two to five meters, sometimes as long as ten meters depending on the Diclonius. They could lift objects many times heavier than their bodyweights with just one vector. Their vectors could also hurl objects at killing speeds, and slice through objects with force greater than that of a vibroblade.

The Diclonius did have two weaknesses though, When a Diclonius was caused extreme pain, its vectors would be temporarily disabled and if its horns were damaged, it would lose its vectors completely. Those who lost their horns were also known to go into comas and on rare occasions, some had died. It seemed that the imperials managed to make a number of clones of a particularly powerful Diclonius called "Mariko" and they had now escaped captivity. Why they would clone a species that was clearly posing a threat to them, Starkiller neither knew or cared, they were fools who deserved whatever harm came their way. Once he had read all that he cared to read, he went back to the cockpit to pilot the ship himself. He cared little for the ship itself; it was a piece of junk, like most ships produced by Seinar these days.

Starkiller made a careless landing on a platform outside Tipoca City then trekked along the catwalk. The rain hit the tender flesh on his bare arms like icy needles, fueling his anger. It was quiet outside so all the action must have been inside. If nothing else, the imperials were able to at least contain the Diclonius. As he approached the entrance to Kamino's capital, he saw a tall man with black hair dressed in a blue tunic that was stained scarlet with blood. The man was rushing along the catwalk with a mixture of grief and distress on his face. "Wait, sir…" was all the man got to say, Starkiller nonchalantly Force-pushed him over the side of the catwalk and entered the sliding doors without looking back.

As he made his way through the darkened halls the sound of blaster fire was audible for a brief moment but then it fell silent. He stalked deeper into the halls of the cloning facility and saw hundreds of shattered tubes and consoles. The floor was soaked with blood and preservatives, there were bodies scattered, humans and Kaminoans. There were also dead human and diclonius embryos lying about. Sensing a number of beings nearby, he entered a dimly lit lab and saw four adolescent female Diclonius creeping toward him like zombies. They must have been the clones of the one called "Mariko".

They all had white cloths draped over their heads and nothing covering their bodies. He summoned Vader's lightsaber into his hand and reached back to hurl it at the nearest clone but she must have been ready. He sensed, rather than saw the vector extend from her body and the lightsaber hilt was snatched from his hand and crushed. Then he sensed four of the spectral tendrils coming toward him, so he reached out with the Force and caused some nearby machinery to burst, showering the clones with sparks and shrapnel. They recoiled momentarily but then started toward him again, one of them shot her vector surprisingly fast but he sent out a Force push which sent the vector flying into her midsection. Finally, he discharged a web of Force lightning which entangled and seared the clones. They made no noise but dropped on their knees and writhed for a few moments before dropping dead. He then went to the nearest working computer and searched all remaining files until he found what he was looking for, a particularly dangerous Diclonius called "Lucy" had snuck aboard an imperial vessel, killed the crew, and somehow taken it off-course. Eventually it was tracked to Raxus Prime so a Diclonius known as "Number Seven" was sent after Lucy.

As Starkiller made his way back outside he was confronted by several dozen more young Diclonius clones. He rose into the air and blasted the soaked floor with lightning, scorching eight of them. He waved his arms and sent out a rippling wave of the Force which knocked five more in all directions. Ten more approached him and their vectors shot out to restrain him. When he could not break free, he encased himself in a sphere of Force-lightning. Searing blue bolts traveled along the vectors and penetrated the clones, causing them to collapse. He reached out with his power and pulled the few remaining clones into his shield, and then he sent them flying in all directions with a Force-repulse. He crouched on the ground for a few moments of rest then saw three of them struggling to their feet. He drew his lightsaber when the cloth fell off of one's head, revealing her face; she had magenta hair and wine-red eyes. Starkiller hesitated for a moment, a foolish move. The clone shot one of her vectors out and shattered the hilt, then she lifted him into the air and tried to strike him with her other vectors but he broke free of her grip. He dropped down and thrust his claws into her throat. He was a fool to hesitate, these things were better off dead! He drew Kazden Paratus' lightsaber and sliced through the two remaining clones. Then the blade began to flicker, the aging lightsaber was dying out. He tossed it over the side of the platform, into the sea below so all he had now was Kota's. The holopad in his pocket started vibrating; the emperor was trying to contact him. He took it out and let it vibrate for a few moments then crushed it in his hand. He was through with the empire now, he had only one purpose now and the emperor was not part of it. He dropped the crushed holopad and headed back to his ship.

* * *

Director Kurama heaved himself onto the lower catwalk he had grabbed a hold of and dragged himself to his ship which was parked on a hidden platform. He had no idea who that masked man was, probably one of the emperor's assassins. Whoever he was, he was sure to do more harm than good here. Tipoca city was lost, the project was a failure and he would have no place in the empire now. All that mattered was finding Nana and Mariko. He had to find them before anyone else did, hopefully they would not kill each other first.

* * *

Starkiller sat in the cockpit, putting the finishing touches on his new lightsaber while the ship piloted itself to Raxus Prime. It started out as Raham Kota's saber but he had replaced its emitter shroud with a new one, one with three metal blades attached to it. He also removed the green power crystal and inserted a mysterious black one he had found in one of the emperor's holocrons. He thumbed the igniter button and a black blade with a ghostly white glow shot out. Once again he had a weapon that was entirely his own and it would be an instrument of death to anyone or anything that crossed him. Finally the ship reached Raxus Prime. He let it pilot itself into the junk world's atmosphere then fried the control console with a jolt of Force lightning, tore the ramp open and dived out.

He slowed his fall with the Force and watched the ship crash into a long abandoned scrap yard. He landed gracefully on a mountain of rubbish and looked around him. Raxus prime had not changed a lot since the last time he came, except that the empire had no presence there, the planet belonged only to scavengers now. In fact he could see a group of scavengers heading toward the yard where his ship crashed, two Rodians, a large Aqualish, and a Neimoidian. He sprinted down the side of the mountain and into the yard. By the time he reached the ship, the aliens had searched it and began squabbling among themselves. He activated his lightsaber and spun it in a flourish, deflecting blaster bolts at the Rodians. Before the Aqualish could draw its own blaster, he thrust his blade between its eyes. Finally, he turned to the cowering Neimoidian. It was stammering as if about to beg for mercy, but it would get no such thing. Starkiller brought his blade down in a vertical slash and sliced the Nemoidian down the middle. He stood over it for a few moments, letting out low rattling breaths through his respirator. All living beings were outlets for his wrath.

Starkiller trekked along a bridge, neither knowing nor caring where he was going. After several minutes he encountered a boy, close to his own age with dark brown hair dressed in blue pants and a white collared shirt, behind him was a girl with light brown hair wearing a green dress. Starkiller drew his lightsaber and they gasped. To his surprise, the boy grabbed a hold of the girl and the two of them dropped into the chasm below. He watched them disappear from sight then continued his trek until he finally reached the end of the bridge.

He noticed what looked like a train yard in the valley below, perhaps to transport junk. He was about to head down when he sensed a presence nearby and he had a feeling it was a Diclonius. It was coming from an old starfighter. He cut the hull open and sure enough, he found a Diclonius child inside. It appeared to be a boy and his eyes were full of fear and confusion. Starkiller gazed down at the child and was suddenly reminded of himself the day he first laid eyes on Vader. He would not make the same mistake as Vader. Before the child could make a move, Starkiller thrust his blade into his heart and headed down toward the train yard. He could already sense another Diclonius there.


	3. Stalker

Nana shuffled through a massive pile of scrap. Since she and the other Diclonius had been forced to flee to the Outer Rim, it was all the same, shuffling through the junk for anything. Food, clothing, bacta, there was so much that they were deprived of, and yet they could easily find it among the junk. As she shooed away a few furry creatures foraging like her, she pulled hard at a door to a ruined train. No matter how hard she pulled, however, it would not budge. Disgruntled, she swung her first vector for it, slicing it down with ease. Before she stepped inside, however, she heard footsteps behind her. Turning quickly, she saw a stranger standing before her, dressed in a black, lightweight garb with a frightful mask upon his his face, long spindly fingers with metal claws stroking at his belt, silent except for the rattling breath he slowly drew. Seeing him, Nana grew rigid. There were many on this world to be wary of, but Nana was sensible enough to speak before engaging.

"Who are you... what do you want?" she breathed.

Silent still, the stranger watched her, his rattling breath echoing slightly in the quiet. It was clear he didn't want to talk, but Nana had enough of the pointless bloodshed. Since being chased away by the empire, the Diclonius had resorted to horrific and animalistic murder, rather than simply fend off the empire's forces. She was not the same as them. Turning, she hurried into the train, already aware that the Stranger was following close behind.

Rushing past the rowed seats, she began flailing her vectors around at the seats, tearing them from the floors and tossing them back at the Stranger. Car after car, they charged on, deeper and deeper under the junk, the light of day long forgotten. Not long, however, she came to a halt in front of a massive heap of garbage.

Breathing heavily, she turned, the color draining from her face as she saw the figure standing before her, an odd weapon with a glowing black beam stretching from a clawed metal cylinder (she also saw the seats she flung at him were burned in half, lying in pieces behind him). For a moment, all was still. She could hear her breath, twice, maybe three times as fast as his slow, rattling intake. They stared each other in the face for what seemed like hours. Nana would have forgotten that time was flowing had it not been for the Stranger's haunting breath.

Finally, the unthinkable happened. The Stranger began to make his way toward her. Tears of pure fear began to stream down her face and she began to fling mammoth chunks of debris from the pile behind her at the Stranger, only to see him split each piece with his eerie weapon. Finally, she saw she had no choice. Seizing him around the throat with her vector, she began to whip him about the car, sending him crashing from wall to ceiling, his body ripping through countless seats all the way. When it seemed she had finally finished him off, she laid his body in the middle of the ruined train slowly, shaking from what she had just done. Turning away from him, she tried to take her mind off the encounter.

She didn't want to kill anymore. It made her feel as if they deserved the empire's rage. Tears streamed down her face once more, though not from fear this time. Shaking the agony off, she turned back to the mound of junk and began tearing away at it with her first two vectors. Just as she made a hole big enough to climb through, however, a horrific pain unlike any she had felt shot through her side.

Slowly looking down, she saw the spectral black blade protruding from her left abdomen. It was a mixed pain she felt. While the weapon burned and seared a hole straight through her, the pain surrounding the tiny wound felt like the flesh around the blade had frozen solid, and the rest of her body felt numb and heavy. Before she could feel anymore pain, however, the blade flew out of her from whence it came.

Expecting to see him standing right behind her, she turned to see him slowly pulling himself toward her with his left hand, the right clutching the glowing weapon. Terrified and powerless (the pain causing her vectors to dissipate), she began to limp down the train as fast as she could, her vision slipping in and out of focus. She didn't dare turn to look at him as she hear his echoing breath grow quiet, not as she heard a deep grunt come from him, not as she heard heavy footsteps marching through the cars, not as she heard him coming up behind her. She was about to faint from the mixture of pain and terror when she tripped, seeing him creeping up on her.

Seeing his weapon raise, she readied herself for his killing blow... until she felt her vectors stretch from her back once more. Shoving him hard with all four of her invisible arms, she heard him give a mechanical sounding growl as he flew through the ceiling of one of the cars, junk pouring through the freshly torn hole. Scurrying to her feet, she began to limp down the hallway of train cars once more, hearing the Stranger slice a hole in the roof and fall into the train once more with an ear shattering crash. The heavy footsteps charged down the train, Nana knowing her fate must be close at hand. Just then, however, she found her way to the final car, sunlight pouring through the door at the end. Hurrying as fast as her wounded body would take her, she knocked it down with a shove from her vectors and hurried into the setting sun.

"Nana!" came a familiar voice. Turning, she saw her father figure, Kurama, standing with open arms.

"Papa!" she cried, "Papa, we have to run. There's a stranger here who is trying to kill me!"

"Nana, what are you saying? There's no one there." Nana was shocked by this response. Turning to the open door, she saw it vacant and empty. Even the echoing rattle of the Stranger's breath was absent. Where had he gone?

"Nana, you're hurt!" Turning to Kurama, she looked down at the hole the blazing weapon made in her side. Looking on at it, she felt her guardian's hands wrap around her. As he whispered that he'd get her help at once, she could think only of the Stranger.

* * *

Yo. It's me, ShaD.23

Darkruler64 asked me to handle this chapter, guess he felt I was the one for this kind of situation. In any event, I think this chapter came out nicely. Tell us what you think.


	4. Unforgivable

Lucy crept and crawled through the junk with her vectors, making her way back to the old starship where she had hidden her half-brother. In one arm she clutched a container of synthmilk and in the other, an aging but edible loaf of bread which she had taken from a scavenger camp. She usually did not venture far from the old starship but they needed nourishment badly and she had to travel some distance to find that camp. It was well hidden but surprisingly empty. She did not have to kill a single being; of course if she did, she would have done so in a heartbeat. She had killed so many beings in her life that it came almost naturally to her now.

So many had done her harm, especially in her childhood, and she had killed them all. At times she regretted it and at times she did not. Sometimes killing gave her great satisfaction. She had been selfish and fought only for herself, but that changed when she found her "brother" (as she had begun to call him). She was introduced to him by a man named Kakuzawa; he had tried to convince her to help him with some maniacal plan of his but she refused and killed him. She thought about killing the boy who was her half-brother, thinking that he'd be better off dead, but for some reason she could not bring herself to do it. For the first time in years, she had someone to care for, someone worth protecting and she would not let anything happen to him. As she came to a small opening in the catacombs of junk, she saw the bridge that lead to the starship and on it were two people she thought she would never see again; it was Kouta and Yuka.

_This_ _is my last chance_, she thought _I have to tell him I'm sorry! _

She trembled as she stood contemplating what to do, then she saw something that made her heart skip a beat. A menacing figure in a metal mask was making his way toward them, armed with an eerie black beam-weapon. Before he got close enough to strike them though, Kouta put his arm tightly around Yuka and they dropped into the chasm below. Dropping the synthmilk and bread, she hurried through the catacombs, occasionally crashing through a wall. In mere minutes, she reached the junk canyon outside and sprinted along the bridge, scanning the chasm below. There was no sign of Kouta or Yuka but there was no way they could have survived such a fall.

_It's over_, she thought.

She had one last chance to tell Kouta how sorry she was for the harm she did him, but it was too late now. All that mattered now was her brother; she would have to move him. She hurried along the bridge and what she saw on the other side filled her with horror. The old starship had been cut open and when she got inside her next worst fear was realized. Her brother lay dead on the floor, staring lifelessly into space with a deep burn in his chest. Lucy could take no more; she dropped to her knees and cried out in despair, clutching her brother's body. He had done nothing wrong and yet he was dead, either because of what he was or just because he was there. As Lucy set him down, she rose to her feet and silently vowed to find the fiend who did this and make him pay.

* * *

Starkiller hastily made his way through a series of mine-like tunnels. He could sense a powerful Diclonius somewhere and did not want to miss it. As he got deeper into the dimly lit tunnels, the Diclonius' presence neither grew stronger nor weaker but stayed the same. Either his senses were wrong or the Diclonius was following him. He came to a halt and then turned to face his would-be stalker. In a matter of seconds she stepped into the dim light; she was dressed in rags and had rose-red hair and blood-red eyes. He instantly recognized her as the one called "Lucy".

She looked much older than she looked in her mug shot and her face and hands were now a mess of bruises and scars but those blood-red eyes were unmistakable. She glared at him with hatred that rivaled his own and sent all four of her vectors at him. He tried to deflect them with a Force shield but they broke through it and struck him with the force of a small missile, knocking him to the ground. One vector gripped each of his arms with bone crushing strength while the other two wildly pounded his torso, breaking several of his ribs. Before she could do any more damage, he sent out an invisible wave of Force energy which slammed into her chest, knocking her back. As he got to his feet, she lunged at him with the savagery of a nexu but he side stepped and kicked her in the back.

He then slammed her against the wall and ran through the tunnel, dragging her against the wall until he came to a dead end. He hurled her into the end of the tunnel and she crashed through the wall, he stepped through the opening and found himself in what may have once been some sort of refinery. He could sense Lucy moving around, trying to ambush him, though he could not pinpoint her. He reached out with the Force and began hurling junk and machinery in all directions in an attempt to flush her out. Finally the ambush came from above; Lucy dropped down and swung her vectors, knocking Starkiller off his feet. He slid across the slick floor and under a conveyor belt, which he hurled at Lucy, only to see her split it in half with her vectors. She lunged at him once again but he blasted her into a wall with Force lightning, just as the emperor did to him.

* * *

Lucy screamed and struggled against the lightning strike but the fiend had her pinned. The pain was unlike any she had ever felt, like a hundred white-hot needles piercing her flesh, her very soul. Finally the fiend relented and she fell to the floor, immobilized. As she lay there, she heard the fiend get to his feet and walk toward her. She could hear his heavy footsteps and sickly wheezing, followed by a loud _snap-hiss_; he was going to kill her if she didn't get her strength back fast.

* * *

As Starkiller made his way toward the wounded Diclonius he heard a familiar voice call out to him…

"Master…is it you…Master?"

He looked down and saw something he thought he would never see again; it was the severed head of PROXY, his old holodroid and his first real friend. He reached down, picked up the droid's head and held it to his own.

"P…PROXY…" he managed to whisper the droid's name, despite the damage done to his vocal cords.

"It is_"

Before the droid could finish responding, its head shattered right in Starkiller's hand, and he knew right away who was responsible. He looked to his right and saw Lucy still lying on the floor, chuckling weakly. He lifted her off the floor and hurled his lightsaber at her chest but before the blade hit her, she caught the hilt with her vector and thrust the blade into his abdomen. He dropped her and hit the floor, in shock from the wound.

* * *

Lucy struggled to her feet and saw the fiend lying motionless on the floor. His weapon was still embedded in him and his sickening breathing had stopped. The last of her enemies was dead; she could grieve for her loved ones all she wanted now. As she turned to leave, she thought only of Kouta. Before she even got near the exit however, she felt three sharp blades pierce the side of her neck. It was such a shock, that she couldn't make a sound. She fell to her knees and hit the floor, choking on her own blood. As she slowly raised her head, the last thing she saw was the fiend looming over her.


	5. Tragedy

Starkiller wandered through an abandoned imperial base, neither knowing nor caring where he was or what he would find here. His mask could not filter out the stench of dried blood and decaying flesh. As he reached the command center, it was clear that a diclonius had been here. Bodies were scattered everywhere and covered in scavenging crab spiders, all of the equipment was broken and Starkiller could detect no diclonius in this vicinity. It was time to move on; once he was outside, he proceeded to wander aimlessly through the junk. Mile after mile, it all looked the same until he came to the one thing on this forsaken world he could never forget. It was the star destroyer he had brought down on his second trip here; most of it was still intact. Bringing that ship down using nothing but his mind was the single proudest moment of his life and it was a grim reminder of the hero he could have been. He could have changed the future of the galaxy, but instead he chose revenge. What a fool he was to kill his former master and not expect the emperor to counter his treachery. Even if he had been fast enough to strike down the emperor, Juno would never have forgiven him for letting Bail and the others die, and now she too was dead. Knowing this made his hatred come ablaze once more. Suddenly he sensed a strong presence atop the star destroyer. Whoever was up there was his next target.

* * *

Even from on top of the starship, Mariko could see nothing but miles and miles of junk. There was not another living thing in sight. The only humans she had encountered here were imperials and they were not much fun. Stormtroopers were so easy to kill, but it was funny to hear the way they screamed when she tossed them around with her vectors. Since her body was crippled, she had to use six of her vectors to climb the starship and two more to hold onto the hover chair she was bound to. If only her father could see her now, she was sure he would be proud. She would happily kill a hundred more stormtroopers if it meant she could see him again. All of a sudden she heard strange breathing behind her; she turned around and saw a strange man in a metal mask. She had never seen anything quite like him. The only skin he showed were his long pale arms. Underneath the ashen skin, she could see metal, like he was part man and part droid. He drew a strange beam-weapon and came toward her.

"Oh, you think you're gonna kill me, huh?" she asked playfully.

Before he came close to her, she launched one of her vectors and knocked the weapon from his hand. Before he could make another move, she launched five more and grabbed him. With one vector, she tore some armor off his shoulder, producing a spray of blood. The masked man let out a loud mechanical hiss and she giggled gleefully. She wondered what would happen if she tore the rest of his armor off.

* * *

Starkiller struggled wildly against the young diclonius he recognized as "Mariko." She launched her vectors at surprising speed, disarmed him, and tore off his pauldron. Infuriated by her childish demeanor, he let out a Force-repulse which knocked her back. He imagined her vectors thrashing like trees in a hurricane and then recoiling. He then lifted her and hurled her across the length of the star destroyer. She landed on its surface with a smack and he walked toward her to deliver a killing blow. He towered over her for a moment and lifted his right hand. Before he could deal the killing blow, she opened her eyes and gave him a look of fury he never imagined seeing on a child. Metal and flesh went flying as his hand shattered and he was bombarded by seven invisible fists. Two knocked him on his back and pounded his chest while one put a dent in his helmet and the others pounded his shoulders and legs. Finally one of the vectors sliced through his vest and into his stomach.

"Nobody can kill me, NOBODY!" Mariko screamed in rage and triumph.

Before she could continue her assault, Starkiller reached out with his left hand and sent a surge of lightning into her torso. Then he got back on his feet and summoned his lightsaber back into his hand. He silently vowed to take one last life before he died.

* * *

Mariko lay on the hard metal surface, paralyzed by the lightning strike. It didn't leave any visible scarring on her, her clothes weren't even burned. It seemed to cause more spiritual damage than physical, but either way it hurt. She didn't like pain, not when it was her own. Suddenly, and unseen force lifted her into the air and she felt her spine bend back and snap. She now knew what it felt like to be in someone else's grip and a she did not like it one bit. She wondered if this was how all the humans she killed had felt before they died, scared, helpless, and in pain...such pain. Tears streamed down her face, she tried to cry out but couldn't.

"_Daddy!" _she screamed in her head.

At that moment, the masked man dropped her and when she opened her eyes she saw her father's face, her prayer had been answered.

"Daddy…" she whispered weakly, "You saved me…just like in my dreams."

"Mariko…" her father said sadly, yet sweetly. "I never told you this before but I loved you from the moment you were born, so did your mother."

Mariko then saw another face she recognized, it was Nana. Mariko met Nana once before, she fought Nana and beat her badly, yet here she was, kneeling beside her. Behind Nana, Mariko could see the masked man lying on the surface, bleeding. She shut her eyes and sighed, it didn't feel so bad to die now, for she was with the only two people who cared about her now.

* * *

Nana knelt beside Kurama, who was silent but in tears as he held Mariko.

"Papa, I'm sorry." She said, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"It's not your fault." He whispered. "It's mine."

At that instant his face twisted into a mask of fear and alarm, he shoved Nana hard and the masked stranger's energy weapon flew into his chest. She whirled around and saw him slowly rising and in less time than it took to contemplate, she launched on of her vectors at full-speed and it went through his visor, impaling his head. She pulled her vector out of him and he fell to the metal surface, finally dead. She crawled over to Kurama and pulled the weapon out of him.

"Papa!" she cried.

"Nana…" Kurama's voice was sweet and poetic. "…I want you to try to live happily…"

"Papa, No!"

His last words spoken, he closed his eyes. Nana wept and cradled her father figure, hoping against hope that he would open his eyes and embrace her one more time.


	6. Into the Stars

Dawn lit up Raxus Prime's heavily polluted sky, and Nana's last job was done. She had worked through the night fashioning makeshift coffins out of scrap metal for Kurama and Mariko. She even made one for the masked stranger and sealed him inside with his weapon. Once the bodies were sealed inside their coffins, she buried them deep inside the massive starship. When she finally left the starship, she could think only of Kurama's last words: _"Try to live happily."_

"_But how?" _She asked herself. _"I'm alone now…"_

But as soon as she formed that thought, she heard a voice call her name, a voice she thought she would never hear again.

"Nana!"

She whirled around and saw Mayu, her first friend running toward her with open arms and Kouta and Yuka were right behing her. For a few moments, Nana was frozen with shock and amazement. She first met Mayu after Kurama had sent her to find Lucy. Mayu took her meet Kouta and Yuka, they gave her a meal, a place to sleep, and helped her find her way to Raxus Prime. Finally, Nana was overcome with joy and rushed forward to embrace Mayu. Then she looked up into the loving faces of Kota and Yuka.

"Nana, we're getting off this planet." Kouta said with a smile.

"We found a ship in one of the scavenger camps, it still works."

"Please come with us!" Mayu insisted.

Mayu could not refuse, she happily left with her new family. _"Papa, I'm going to be alright." _She thought.

* * *

Yuka watched as Raxus Prime quickly disappeared from sight. The ship had a broken hyperdrive but there was just enough fuel to get them to a spaceport. Then they could start looking for a new home, far away from the empire. Nana and Mayu cuddled together in the back, fast asleep. The sight made her heart melt. When Mayu first joined them, Yuka was rather jealous, but now she was happy to have her and Nana as a part of the family. They never did find Lucy, Nana said that she had found her dead. Kouta seemed heart broken when she told them this. Yuka had also grown quite fond of Lucy or "Nyu" as they had known her. She joined Kouta in the cockpit and saw a tear rolling down his cheek. She bent down and wiped it away for him.

"I know how much she meant to you now…I'm sorry, Kouta." She said fighting back her own tears.

"I just wish I could have told her…I forgive her." He said as she sat at the copilot's seat.

It warmed her heart to see how kind Kouta was. It was amazing how much he had matured. In the past, yuka had been selfish and wanted him all to herself, but she quickly changed when Mayu and Nana came into their lives. The four of them were a family now and not even the empire could tear them apart.


End file.
